Red-state Democrats may defect on budget plan

Some not ready to commit to Obama proposal

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Kay Hagan of North Carolina isn’t ruling out support for extending the George W. Bushera tax cuts for top earners.

By Kathleen Hunter
Bloomberg News
November 20, 2012

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats, cautiously optimistic about prospects for a deficit-reduction deal, may have to contend with wariness from seven members who face 2014 reelection campaigns in states Mitt Romney won Nov. 6.

Some of those seven Democrats, including North Carolina’s Kay Hagan and Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu, say they aren’t ready to commit to President Obama’s proposals for boosting tax revenue. Instead, Hagan isn’t ruling out support for extending the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for top earners. Landrieu said she opposes eliminating tax breaks for oil companies.

‘‘I think that we have what we call complicated math here,’’ said Jennifer Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington.

The 60-vote threshold for advancing major legislation in the Senate presents a hurdle for any fiscal agreement. Electoral pressures in the Senate — where Democrats will defend 20 seats in 2014, compared with 13 for Republicans — are among the dynamics that make counting votes complicated. Democrats control the chamber, 53 to 47, and will gain two seats in January.

Hagan said her priority in evaluating a deficit-reduction plan will be the needs of her state, not necessarily what her party leaders want. She won her seat in 2008 when Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win North Carolina since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

‘‘I need to be looking at what’s important in North Carolina, and you better believe that’s what I will do,’’ Hagan said.

Pressed on whether she could be persuaded to support the Republican position of extending the Bush-era tax cuts for all income levels, Hagan said, ‘‘I want to look at the whole package, but I definitely want to protect the middle-class taxpayer, first and foremost.’’

The Senate in July passed legislation extending the Bush-era tax cuts only for individual income up to $200,000 a year and married couples’ income up to $250,000. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who caucuses with Democrats, and Virginia Democrat Jim Webb joined Republicans in opposing that measure. Neither sought reelection this year.

Landrieu said in an interview last week she would consider supporting changes to tax breaks for oil and gas companies only as part of a broad tax-code rewrite next year. She said she wouldn’t vote to curb the tax breaks ‘‘for putting more revenues on the table’’ as part of a late-year budget deal.

‘‘They are not an ATM machine to stop the deficit problem,’’ Landrieu said.

Besides Hagan and Landrieu, the Democrats up for reelection in 2014 in states Romney won are Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, and Max Baucus of Montana.

As chairman of the Finance Committee, Baucus would be hard-pressed to oppose a deal that Obama reaches with Republicans. Still, Baucus said in an interview last week that he would work hard to ensure rural states aren’t harmed.

Senator undecided

‘‘My job is to make sure that Montana and rural states are represented at the table, in the room,’’ Baucus said, adding, ‘‘John Boehner’s from Cincinnati, the president’s from Chicago.’’

‘‘So it’s very important for me to make sure that Montana and Western states are protected,’’ Baucus said. ‘‘We don’t want to take advantage of other states or other people, we just don’t want others to take advantage of us. It’s standing up for my state.’’

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, a member of a bipartisan group of senators that has worked to forge consensus on a broad deficit-reduction deal, said that while he wanted ‘‘to be helpful to getting towards a solution, at the end of the day, getting this right’’ was the most important thing. Warner said he hasn’t decided whether he will run for a second term.

Of those Democrats in Republican-leaning states who seek reelection in 2014, Duffy predicted some of the most vulnerable will get opportunities for political cover from party leaders.

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